They didn’t bunch hits together, they didn’t walk, they didn’t score, and in particular, they didn’t score for Oswalt, whose 98 pitches of brilliant moundsmanship were wasted again as the Padres blanked the Astros 3-0 at Petco Park.

Once Oswalt left for pinch hitter Pedro Feliz after seven innings, the Padres got to work on their meager but more-than-satiating offensive output. Tony Gwynn Jr. started a two-out rally in the eighth against Brandon Lyon, and David Eckstein doubled to the left-field wall with Gwynn scoring ahead of the relay started by Carlos Lee.

After Lyon intentionally walked Adrian Gonzalez, lefty Tim Byrdak came in to turn switch-hitter Chase Headley around to the right side and walked him. Byrdak was left in to face Scott Hairston and the righthanded hitter singled between third and shortstop to make it 3-0.

“He has been so good, and he’s the guy we wanted out there,” Astros manager Brad Mills said of Lyon, who entered 5-1 with a 2.80 ERA in relief. “A guy can’t be just 100 percent solid every time out.”

Oswalt retired the first 11 Padres he faced. The righthander gave up three hits — all singles — and two walks while striking out seven.

No run support again

But the Astros put up matching zeros, which was nothing new as Oswalt entered the game with 2.94 runs of support per game, the fourth worst in the majors.

“But you’ve still got to pitch, and I was able to go seven and keep them off the board,” said Oswalt, not as visibly frustrated as he has been after past undeserved losses and no-decisions. “I felt pretty good from the bullpen coming in, and I had pretty good stuff.”

It’s among the reasons he asked this season to be traded to a contending team, which the Astros have 29 days to do.

Oswalt, who remained at 5-10 on the year with a no-decision, stands two wins shy of Joe Niekro’s franchise record of 144 wins. With almost any other offense in baseball over the past two years, Niekro would look about 2 feet tall with how far away he would be in Oswalt’s rearview mirror. That’s what happens when you’re not in control of your fate.

“Well, the other guy was pretty good, too,” Oswalt said.

Latos, the righthander who could be right up the road in Anaheim for the All-Star Game on July 13, was simply superb against the Astros.

He allowed four hits in his eight innings, and walked none, derailing the Astros’ gains in that department in recent games. He struck out seven in his 105-pitch gem.

Combine that with the eight scoreless innings he tossed in Houston on May 7, Latos (9-4) has allowed six hits and no walks while striking out 16 in 16 innings against the Astros this season

Four hits not enough

They never really got close to scoring against Latos. Lee had two singles, and Jeff Keppinger and Angel Sanchez, who was playing his first game as an Astro, added one apiece.

“It felt really good,” Sanchez said of his first hit with the team. “It would be better if we’d won the game.”

Part of the reason the Astros didn’t was that the hits came in different innings, and consequently, the Astros never got a runner past second base against Latos.

Four of the seven strikeouts were looking, and the Astros didn’t get a ball out of the infield from the last out of the fourth until a two-out single in the eighth.

San Diego closer Heath Bell worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn the save and leave the Astros at 32-49 at the season’s halfway point.